Curran's Memorial Fund!
Donation protected
UPDATE: We are saddened to say, after a valiant one-year battle against metastisized neuroendocrine cancer, Curran passed away early Thanksgiving Day.
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It's been a really tough couple of years for the Engel family. Last year (Valentine's Day, 2015), diverticulitis caused Curran to requine an emergency, life-saving colostomy. After the surgery, he went into septic shock, his blood pressure dangerously low. He fought back, however, and made a full recovery—enough to have a reversal surgery 6 months later in August.
In September, still struggling to recover from his colostomy reversal surgery, he was drying his neck after his shower and felt a lump. After weeks of waiting to get the necessary scans and needle biopsies, we learned that he had a malignancy. Unfortunately, small tumors were present on his lungs and abdomen. Doctors postulated that the largest tumor in his abdomen might possibly be the main/source tumor: They recommended another surgery to remove it. So we geared up for the third major surgery of 2015. Again, Curran fought back to make a full recovery.
The doctors couldn't be sure, but they believed Curran had neuroendocrine cancer, which is fatal in 97% of cases. The cells from the tumor biopsy were heterogeneous and "weirdly aggressive." There were only two types of treatment Kaiser offered, and doctors were not optimistic that either one would work because his cancer was spreading so rapidly.
We were determined to fight back, so we sought a second opinion at UCSF out of pocket. The UCSF doctors had more ideas for treatment, and Kaiser did follow their advice, giving Curran 6 rounds of chemo, then a course of Octriotide injections. Scans showed that the tumors were not getting smaller, but some seemed to be growing at a slower pace in a few areas.
He finished his last chemo round in August, but the tide seemed to turn around the one-year mark since his original diagnosis. Curran thought his sciatica was acting up at the time of his 30-year college reunion in September, but nothing was going to stop him from going to Santa Fe and seeing his St. John's College friends. He went and had a great time, but the back pain was becoming unbearable.
When we returned, new scans showed the treatments had failed to stop the cancer from spreading into his bones, and, because he was now barely able to walk, doctors said he was not eligible for more chemo or any trials.
Around this time, Curran had to stop going to work because he couldn't walk without terrible pain. Doctors prescribed morphine and a two-week course of palliative radiation to reduce the pain he was feeling in his hip and shoulder.
In mid-October, Curran was walking out of our front door when he stepped down and felt excruciating pain. No one knew it at the time, but he had just fractured his hip socket. Neighbors helped bring him inside because he could no longer walk. He attempted to rest in between being driven to daily, painful radiation treatments.
When all but three of his treatments were completed, the doctors noticed the fracture on his x-ray. Because of the widespread cancer in his bones, they said there was no way to repair it. The orthopedist, oncologist, and palliative care doctors all said he will never be able to walk again because the cancerous bones will never heal.
Doctors sent him home with painkillers and told him not to put any weight on his right leg. They do not believe a recovery is possible and recommended hospice care
Possibly the hardest blow for Curran to accept was when the doctors told him he would never be able to return to work. Curran loves his job at the Academy of Art. The only thing he loves more than his boys and me is making movies and teaching others to make them. He is so proud of his students who go on to be working professionals in the tough-to-enter film and television industries. He so much wants to get up and go to work. Many of his painkiller-induced hallucinations involve being on set, making phone calls about financing, and conducting midpoint reviews at the Academy.
So that's where we stand right now. My husband is at home, but has developed a terrible twitch and is struggling to remain lucid on the strong painkillers. He's groggy but unable to sleep well because of the twitching. I am taking a leave of absence from work to care for him. We are about to enter into hospice care.
As you might imagine, these medical emergencies have really taken their toll—emotionally, physically, and financially—on our family. We are still trying to pay off the three surgeries from 2015. We have hit our out of pocket max ($10,000) for two years in a row,, and the unpaid medical bills are piling up.
Even though Kaiser doctors have said he's beyond medical help and may only have weeks or months to live, we want to seek more opinions outside of the Kaiser system,
Without Curran's paycheck, we won't have enough income to stay in our house, make our car payment, pay our bills, much less seek second and third opinions. We are weighing the decisions as best as we can, but are feeling there are insurmountable odds against us.
--------------------------------------------------------------------
It's been a really tough couple of years for the Engel family. Last year (Valentine's Day, 2015), diverticulitis caused Curran to requine an emergency, life-saving colostomy. After the surgery, he went into septic shock, his blood pressure dangerously low. He fought back, however, and made a full recovery—enough to have a reversal surgery 6 months later in August.
In September, still struggling to recover from his colostomy reversal surgery, he was drying his neck after his shower and felt a lump. After weeks of waiting to get the necessary scans and needle biopsies, we learned that he had a malignancy. Unfortunately, small tumors were present on his lungs and abdomen. Doctors postulated that the largest tumor in his abdomen might possibly be the main/source tumor: They recommended another surgery to remove it. So we geared up for the third major surgery of 2015. Again, Curran fought back to make a full recovery.
The doctors couldn't be sure, but they believed Curran had neuroendocrine cancer, which is fatal in 97% of cases. The cells from the tumor biopsy were heterogeneous and "weirdly aggressive." There were only two types of treatment Kaiser offered, and doctors were not optimistic that either one would work because his cancer was spreading so rapidly.
We were determined to fight back, so we sought a second opinion at UCSF out of pocket. The UCSF doctors had more ideas for treatment, and Kaiser did follow their advice, giving Curran 6 rounds of chemo, then a course of Octriotide injections. Scans showed that the tumors were not getting smaller, but some seemed to be growing at a slower pace in a few areas.
He finished his last chemo round in August, but the tide seemed to turn around the one-year mark since his original diagnosis. Curran thought his sciatica was acting up at the time of his 30-year college reunion in September, but nothing was going to stop him from going to Santa Fe and seeing his St. John's College friends. He went and had a great time, but the back pain was becoming unbearable.
When we returned, new scans showed the treatments had failed to stop the cancer from spreading into his bones, and, because he was now barely able to walk, doctors said he was not eligible for more chemo or any trials.
Around this time, Curran had to stop going to work because he couldn't walk without terrible pain. Doctors prescribed morphine and a two-week course of palliative radiation to reduce the pain he was feeling in his hip and shoulder.
In mid-October, Curran was walking out of our front door when he stepped down and felt excruciating pain. No one knew it at the time, but he had just fractured his hip socket. Neighbors helped bring him inside because he could no longer walk. He attempted to rest in between being driven to daily, painful radiation treatments.
When all but three of his treatments were completed, the doctors noticed the fracture on his x-ray. Because of the widespread cancer in his bones, they said there was no way to repair it. The orthopedist, oncologist, and palliative care doctors all said he will never be able to walk again because the cancerous bones will never heal.
Doctors sent him home with painkillers and told him not to put any weight on his right leg. They do not believe a recovery is possible and recommended hospice care
Possibly the hardest blow for Curran to accept was when the doctors told him he would never be able to return to work. Curran loves his job at the Academy of Art. The only thing he loves more than his boys and me is making movies and teaching others to make them. He is so proud of his students who go on to be working professionals in the tough-to-enter film and television industries. He so much wants to get up and go to work. Many of his painkiller-induced hallucinations involve being on set, making phone calls about financing, and conducting midpoint reviews at the Academy.
So that's where we stand right now. My husband is at home, but has developed a terrible twitch and is struggling to remain lucid on the strong painkillers. He's groggy but unable to sleep well because of the twitching. I am taking a leave of absence from work to care for him. We are about to enter into hospice care.
As you might imagine, these medical emergencies have really taken their toll—emotionally, physically, and financially—on our family. We are still trying to pay off the three surgeries from 2015. We have hit our out of pocket max ($10,000) for two years in a row,, and the unpaid medical bills are piling up.
Even though Kaiser doctors have said he's beyond medical help and may only have weeks or months to live, we want to seek more opinions outside of the Kaiser system,
Without Curran's paycheck, we won't have enough income to stay in our house, make our car payment, pay our bills, much less seek second and third opinions. We are weighing the decisions as best as we can, but are feeling there are insurmountable odds against us.
Organizer and beneficiary
Hannah R Blackwell
Organizer
Castro Valley, CA
Annalisa Chamberlain Engel
Beneficiary
